| David Waterhouse |
 
PhD Student, Commenced 2002Funding: Department Research Demonstrator The Evolutionary Relationships of Parrots The order Psittaciformes (Parrots, Macaws, Cockatoos and Lories) occur on all continents and many islands across the world. The parrots are defined by their distinctive, stout, hooked bill with a prominent cere, zygodactyl feet and sparse, hard plumage. The last worker to seriously consider the morphology of parrots with the intention of proposing a cladistic analysis worked in 1975. There have been no previous systematic studies based on the osteology of these birds. Although it is quite easy to assign a species to the Psittaciformes based on morphology, the  absence of closely related groups makes tracing the ancestry of parrots complicated. I propose to generate a review of the morphological evidence supporting the major phylogenetic subdivisions within Psittaciformes on the basis of cladistic analysis. As is standard in phylogenetic analyses, osteological characters will be formulated and defined when features are considered to show variation between (but not within) the taxa under consideration and partionable into two, or more, discrete states.
Since completing my undergraduate training (Geology and Biology Joint Honours, University of Bristol, 1997-2000) I have gained additional relevant 
research experience. I have completed a MSc research project (Palaeobiology, University of Bristol, 2002) on the evolutionary relationships of shorebirds (order Charadriiformes). This work has been submitted to the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology for publication. Although based in Bristol, the completion of this project involved research study visits to the Natural History Museum, London and the American Museum of Natural History, New York.
As well as my academic interests I have also gained a teaching certificate (PGCE, also from the University of Bristol, 2001) and I am an active scientific illustrator and reconstruction artist (see below for some examples of my work). I have been involved in creating several reconstructions (watercolour, acrylic and pen and ink) for the use of different organisations, including the University of Bristol and Oxfordshire Geology Trust (formerly known as Oxfordshire RIGS). I am currently working with North East Yorkshire Geology Trust (formerly known as North East Yorkshire RIGS) on illustrations for leaflets and interpretation boards to go up at important geological sites accross North East Yorkshire. I am also currently working on illustrations for a new book on fossil birds.     
Publications Fieldwork and Museum Research Contact details: David. M. Waterhouse Department of Zoology, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland. Tel: (+ 353 1) 716 2239 Fax: (+ 353 1) 706 1152 Email: david.waterhouse@ucd.ie |
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